Ave Maria Press

History

Ave Maria Press is one of the oldest Catholic publishing houses in the United States. Sorin founded the company in order to publish the Ave Maria magazine, a magazine focused on Catholic families, honoring The Virgin Mary, and showcasing Catholic writings. He purchased a printing press in Chicago, and set it up in Brownson Hall at Notre Dame.

Rev. Neal Henry Gillespie C.S.C. was editor of Ave Maria Magazine from 1868 until his death in 1874. Sorin placed Fr. Gillespie's sister, Mother Angela Gillespie, a veteran nurse of the American Civil War, in charge of editorial management. In the early days, much of the work of typographer and pressmen was done by the Holy Cross brothers.

By 1900, Ave Maria was the largest English-language Catholic magazine worldwide. At the same time, Ave Maria diversified its offerings, releasing books and pamphlets as well as the magazine. The magazine was started in 1865 and continued until 1970 when it was dropped due to decline in circulation. Ave Maria Press now focuses solely on the publishing of Catholic books. The company's bestselling book is Joseph M. Champlin's Together for Life, a guide for couples planning a Catholic wedding. Ave Maria Press is located on Moreau Drive on the campus of the University of Notre Dame.

References

References

1. "Domestic Sales {{!}} Ave Maria Press".
2. "International Distribution {{!}} Ave Maria Press".
3. "About." ''Ave Maria Press.'' August 17, 2007. Ave Maria Press. August 24, 2007 [http://avemariapress.com/viewTopic.cfm?Topic_ID=18 Avemariapress.com]
4. [http://holycrosscongregation.org/news/ave-maria-press-celebrates-its-150th-anniversary/ "Ave Maria Press Celebrates Its 150th Anniversary", Congregation of Holy Cross]
5. Murphy, Thomas. [https://ndsmcobserver.com/2019/01/ave-maria-press-serves-national-catholic-community/ "Ave Maria Press serves national Catholic community", ''The Observer'', January 30, 2019]
6. [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06560b.htm Ewing, John. "Neal Henry Gillespie." The Catholic Encyclopedia] Vol. 6. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909. 24 February 2020{{PD-notice
7. The [[Sisters of the Holy Cross]] assisted in various editorial and production capacities. [[Orestes Brownson]], [[Robert Hugh Benson]], and [[James Gibbons (bishop). James Cardinal Gibbons]] were contributors to the magazine. In 1875, Rev. Daniel Hudson C.S.C. became editor, a position he held until 1930.Hope C.S.C., Arthur C.[http://archives.nd.edu/press.htm ''Notre Dame - One Hundred Years'', University of Notre Dame archives]
8. McConville, Emily [https://www.southbendtribune.com/news/local/history/ave-maria-press-celebrates-th-anniversary/article_878733a3-63ec-5700-9f72-6de6234ec11f.html "Ave Maria Press celebrates 150th anniversary", ''South Bend Tribune'', February 7, 2015]